Reclining chair with extensible footrest



Jan. 29, 1957 E. M. KNAB'USCH ETAL RECLINING CHAIR WITH EXTENSIBLE FOOTREST Filed March 16, 1953 5 Smets-sheet 1 n RJ mk M www Nw mwwwm,

N IN VEN T Jan. 29, 1957 E. M. KNABuscH ErAL 2,779,392

RECLININC CHAIR WITH EXTENSIBLE FOOTREST Filed March 1s, 195s 5 Sheets-Sheet 2 E. M. KNABuscH Erm. 2,779,392

RECLINING CHAIR WITH EXTENSIBLE FOOTREST Filed March 1e, 195s Jan. l29, 1957 5 Sheets-Sheet I5 Jan. 29, 1957 E. M. KNABuscH Erm. 2,779,392

RECLINING CHAIR WITH EXTENSIBLE FOTREST Filed March 1s. 195s 5 Sheets-Sheet 4 I JM War Jan- 29, 1957 E. M. KNABuscl-l Erm. 2,779,392

RECLINING CHAIR WITH EXTENSIBLE FOOTREST Filed March 16, 1955 5 Sheets-Sheei'l 5 United States Patent RECLINING CHAIR WITH EXTENSIBLE FOOTREST Edward M. Knabusch and Edwin J. Shoemaker, Monroe, Mich., assignors to La-Z-Boy Chair Company, Monroe, Mich., a corporation of Michigan Application March 16, 1953, Serial N o. 342,336

19 Claims. (Cl. 155-106) This invention` relates generally to chairs and more particularly to chairs of the type which are movable between a sitting and reclining position.

This invention is an improvement over the chair structure illustrated in applicants Patent No, 2,240,850, issued May 6, 1941, for Chair. 'l'he vchair structure illustrated therein is .of the type in which the chair seat and back are pivotally supported on a base and counterbalanced so that by leaning back in the chair a user may move the back downwardly `and forwardly and the` seat forwardly and upwardly into a reclining position, and so that by srtting up in the seat the user can return the chair to 1ts upright sitting position. The chair is so balanced that 1t will not move from its sitting to reclining position unless the user applies pressure with the upper pornon of '111s back against the chair back, adjacent the upper portion thereof, thereby permitting the chair to be used as an ordinary chair, if desired.

lt is an object of this invention to provide a chair of the aforementioned type having a leg or foot rest adjacent the front edge of the chair seat, which is actuatable with the chair .seat and back so that when the chair isV moved to its reclining position the foot rest will be raised to a substantially horizontal position at least as high as or above the top of the chair seat cushion, to thereby provide a chair which will properly support the entire human body, in a generally reclining position. n

It is a still further object of this invention to provide, on opposite sides of a chair, a fixture for supportmg a chair seat, back and leg rest, -on a chair base, so that rearward tilting of the seat back will cause rapid actuationl and raising of the leg rest to properly support 'the legs of the user even when the seat is not fully reclined.

It is a still further object of this invention to provide a iixture `of the aforementioned ltype which Will permit the chair to be reclined when desired lbut will maintain the chair in a `sitting position unless it is desired to` recline the same.

lt is a still further object of this invention to provide a chair of the aforementioned type in which :the seat back and leg rest are supported by a plurality of pivotal links which will advance the seat forwardly and upwardly as the back swings downwardly and forwardly, and will swing the leg rest upwardly to provide a contouredseat arrangement with the leg4 rest :disposed above the chairl seat.

It is a still further object of this invention 'to provide a chair of the aforementioned type in which the fixtures are disposed laterally outwardly of the .chair seat construction, for supporting the seat, back and leg rest on the chair base or frame, `and which fixtures will not inter fere with the proper positioning of a cushion on the chair seat frame and are substantially concealed in the chair, when the latter is upholstered.

It is a still further object of this invention to :provide a chair of the aforementioned type in which lthe leg rest may be manually and adjustably raised or lowered when the chair is in its upright position and will still be automatically actuated when the chair position is varied.

lt is a still further object of this invention to provide, in a chair of the aforementioned type, structure opera tively connecting the leg rest with the chair seat and back actuating mechanism so that the leg rest will move out- Wardly or forwardly, as it moves upwardly, when the chair is reclined.

It is a still further object of this invention to provide, in a chair of the aforementioned type, a novel connection between the leg rest and its actuating mechanism, so that when the chair -is reclined the leg rest will move forwardly or outwardly relative to its actuating mechanism, to thereby still further extend the leg rest relative to the chair seat in order to properly support the legs of relatively tall people.

It is a still further object of this invention to provide a chair of the aforementioned type which is rugged` in construction, relatively inexpensive to manufacture, properly balanced, and attractive in appearance, and in which the leg rest folds downwardly into the chair base, so that when the chair is in its upright or sitting position the leg rest appears to be a part of the base and is not noticeable.

These and other objects of this invention will become apparent from the following detailed description, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which:

Figure l is a perspective view of a chair of this invention in its upright or sitting position;

Fig. 2 is a fragmentary side View of the chair of this invention with the seat and back cushions removed for purposes of clarity and illustrating :the chair in its upright or sitting position;

Fig. 3 is a View similar to Fig. 2, but illustrating the chair in a partially recline-d position;

Fig. 4 is a view similar to Figs. 2 and 3, but illustrating the chair in -its fully reclined position;

Fig. 5 is a fragmentary plan view of the linkage and adjacent chair portions on one side of the chair;

Fig. V6 is a perspective View of the upholstered chair in its fully reclined position;

Fig. 7 is a sectional View similar to Fig. 2, illustrating a further embodiment of the invention wherein the leg rest may be manually adjusted when the chair seat and back are in their upright or `sitting position;

8 is an enlarged sectional view of the structure illustrated in Fig. 7, taken along the line 8 4; thereof; Fig. 9 is `a sectional view of the structure illustrated in Fig. 8, taken along the line `9-9 thereof;

Fig. l0 is a fragmentary sectional View similar to Fig. 8, illustrating the position of the linkage parts when the foot ,rest is manually adjusted to its raised position;

Fig. l1 is a side elevational view of ya further embodiment of the invention illustrating the leg rest and adjacent supporting parts;

Fig. l2 is a sectional View of ,the structure illustrated in Fig. 1l, taken along the line lll-10 thereof;

Fig. 13 `is a fragmentary side view, partially in section and partially in elevation, of the foot rest and its actuating linkage and a novel `connection between the rest .and linlcage to permit the foot rest to move outwardly relative to the linkage when .the chair is reclined;

Fig. 14 is a view partially in section and partially in elevation of the structure illustrated in Fig. 13, taken along the line 14a-14 thereof;

Fig. l5 is a sectional View of the structure illustrated in Fig. 13, taken along the line It- 15 thereof; and

Fig. 16 is a fragmentary side view of the foot rest and actuating linkage and illustrating a further embodiment of structure wherein the foot rest will move outwardly when the chair is reclined.

Referring now to the drawings, and more particularly to Figs. l-5, it will be seen that the` chair includes a stationary wooden base or body structure 13, having arms on opposite sides thereof, front vertical leg portions 17 connected with the front of the arms, rear vertical leg members 19 connected with the back of the arms, a horizontally extending frame member 21 interconnecting the vertical back members 19, and side board or frame members 23 extending between the front and back vertical members 17 and 19 below the arms 15. Suitable braces and corner members are provided for interconnecting the aforementioned frame members rigidly to provide a strong chair frame structure. A channel shaped metal bar 25 extends horizontally between the side members 23 and is rigidly connected therewith. The member 25 has vertically extending leg portions at the opposite ends thereof which are connected with the wooden side members 23, while the bight or central portion thereof extends between the side frame members 23 adjacent the bottom thereof, for a reason which will hereinafter appear.

A generally rectangular chair seat frame 27 is movably supported on the chair body 13, as is a chair back frame 29 and a leg rest frame 31. As can be best seen in Fig. l, the chair body 13 is upholstered and a seat cushion 33 is carried by the seat frame 27, while a back cushion 35 is carried by the seat back frame 29. Likewise, a leg rest upholstered cushion 37 is carried by the leg rest frame 31. Thus, the chair in its finished form is completely upholstered. The chair seat, back and leg rest are all movably supported on the chair body by a tixture 39 on each side of the chair. Each xture 39 includes a parallelogram linkage structure for supporting the chair seat 27 on the chair body 13. This structure includes a pair of parallel, generally vertically extending links 41 and 43, which are pivotally connected at their upper ends at 45 and 47, respectively, to a horizontally extending bar 49, which is rigidly connected with the chair body side frame member 23. The lower ends of the links 41 and 43 are pivotally connected at 51 and 53 to a lower rigid bar 55, which in turn is connected to a bar 57 rigidly connected with the sides of the chair seat frame 27. The links 41 and 43. in conjunction with the upper and lower bars 49 and 55, therefore define a parallelogram type linkage for supporting the chair seat frame on the chair body. It should be noted that when the chair is in the upright position as shown in solid lines in Fig. 2, the links 41 and 43 extend downwardly and somewhat forwardly from their pivots 45 and 47, for a reason which will hereinafter appear.

The chair seat back frame 29 is pivotally supported on the parallelogram seat linkage through a plurality of links and pivotal connections. A rigid straplike bar 59 is rigidly connected with a vertical side frame portion of the back frame, adjacent the lower end thereof, and is provided, intermediate the ends thereof, with a laterally projecting pin 61. A second straplike link or bar 63 has its upper end slotted or recessed at 65 to receive the pin 61 while the lower end of the link 59 is connected to the link 63 by a cap screw 67, so that the bars or links 59 and 63 function as a single link but are separated to permit the chair back to be disassembled from the chair seat when the chair is shipped. An elongated arm 71 has its rear end pivotally connected to link 63 at 75 just above the bottom of the back frame 59. The forward end of the link 71 is pivotally connected at 76 to the lower end of a vertically extending link 77, the upper end of which -is pivoted at 45 to the rigid bar 49. A short link 79 is 6 connected with the pivots 76 and 51 to operatively connect the link 71 with the parallelogram linkage. The link 77 is provided with a projection or lanced stop 81, which is adapted to abut the upper edge of the link 71 when the chair is in its fully reclined position, to limit the amount of reclining movement of the chair. A similar stop 83 is provided on the bar 49 for engaging parallelogram link li3 to limit the reclining movement of the chair.

A link S7 has its lower end pivotally connected to the back end of the rigid bar 49 below the chair back and itS 4 upper end pivotally connected at 75 with the link or bar 63 so as to connect the chair back frame 29 with the chair base or body frame 13. A link 89 operatively connects the link or bar 63 with the parallelogram seat linkage and is therefore pivotally connected at its lower end to pivot 53 and at its upper end is pivotally connected at 91 to link 63, adjacent to but spaced from the lower end thereof. The aforesaid fixture structure on each side of the chair seat frame 27 will permit the back frame to be moved between an upright or sitting position and a reclining position. As the chair seat frame 27 moves forwardly, it likewise moves upwardly, due to its parallelogram linkage support and the back frame 29 fulcrums about the movable pivots 75 and 91, the latter of which moves forwardly and upwardly and the former of which moves forwardly and downwardly. Thus, the chair back frame does not pivot about fixed points but pivots about the forwardly moving pivots 75 and 91 so that the lower end of the chair back frame moves forwardly and downwardly as the chair seat frame moves forwardly and upwardly. Therefore, the bottom edge of lthe chair back cushion 35 moves toward the back edge of the chair seat cushion 33, thereby maintaining a proper relationship at all times between the chair back and seat to properly support the user in all chair positions, without causing the users back to slide relative to the chair back, which would be undesirable and would cause bunching of the users clothing, and other uncomfortable effects.

The lower end of the link 63 is curved or bent so that, when the chair back is in its upright or sitting position, the extreme rear end 93 of the link 63 is disposed below and rearwardly of pivot 91. An elongated actuator arm 95 is pivotally connected at 97 to the rear end 93 of link 63 and extends angularly forwardly and upwardly therefrom, laterally outwardly of the chair seat frame 27. The forward end of the elongated actuator arm 95 is bent so as to provide an arm portion 9S extending angularly from the remainder of the arm, and the extreme forward end thereof is pivotally connected at 99 to a bracket 101 connected to the under side of the leg rest frame 31 adjacent the back or upper end thereof. A link 103 has one end thereof pivotally connected at 105 to the bracket 101 adjacent the forward or lower end thereof, and the opposite end of link 193 is pivotally connected at 107 to the lower end of a link 109. The link 199 is pivotally connected at 111, intermediate its ends, to the elongated actuator arm 95, and has its upper end pivotally connected at 113 to a bracket 115 which is rigidly connected to a chair seat frame side member, adjacent the front thereof. Bracket 115 is illustrated as being formed from a single piece of metal having a flat horizontal portion connected to the seat frame and a vertical upstanding portion bent upwardly out of the plane of the horizontal portion and which is apertured to receive a pin or the like which pivotally connects the bracket to link 109. The bracket 115 is also formed with a downwardly bent vertical portion which is connected to the side of the seat frame to additionally support the bracket on the seat frame. While the aforementioned leg rest links do not provide a true parallelogram linkage arrangement, they do provide a linkage arrangement which is of. a substantially parallelogram nature. The leg rest frame 31 is thus so supported that when the chair is in its upright position, the leg rest frame 31 is disposed in a generally vertical plane between the chair body front vertical members 17 and the leg rest cushion 37 blends with the upholstery on the chair body or base so as to appear as a part of the base.

When the chair back moves toward its reclined position, the leg rest moves upwardly and forwardly at an accelerated rate, due to the fact that the pivot 97 between the rear end of the link 63 and the rear end of elongated actuator arm 95 moves through an arc about pivot 91 and is disposed forwardly of pivot 91 when the chair is fully reclined. This movement thus causes the leg rest to move upwardly at a faster rate than the armena chair seat and at the same time, due to the pivotal linkage connection between the leg rest, the seat frame 27, and fixture 39, the rest is carried forwardly relative to the chair seat frame. Thus, the leg rest not only is quickly raised, when the chair is reclined, so as to support a users legs even when the chair is only partially reclined, but it moves forwardly to properly clear the upholstered base and provide a rest for supporting the users feet and legs in a comfortable manner. When the chair back is fully reclined, the leg rest is disposed above the chair seat frame and above or in substantial alignment with the back or top of the chair back, so as to provide a contoured chair which will properly support the users body.

While in a reclining chair of this type it is desirable that the user be able to easily control the chair position, while sitting in the chair, the chair also should be usable as an ordinary sitting chair and should not, therefore, recline except when desired. When the chair is in its upright position, the parallelogram fixture links 41 and 43 extend angularly downward from the seat so that the weight of the user thereon tends to rotate the lower ends of the links rearwardly and retain the chair in its upright position. Furthermore, in view of the fact that the chair back operating linkage is connected with the chair back frame 29 adjacent to, but somewhat above the bottom thereof, pressure applied by the lower portion of the users back, against the lower portion of the chair back, as is normal when a person is sitting in a chair, will not tend to pivot the chair back toward its reclining position. However, if the upper portion of the users back is pressed against the upper portion of the chair back, a substantial leverage action is obtained and when the weight is so applied to the chair back, the users weight on the chair seat and the parallelogram links 41 and 43 is reduced so that the chair will easily move to its reclining position or any position between its upright and fully reclined position. Thus, the fixtures 39 on each side of the chair are comprised of a plurality of links which are pivotally interconnected in the manner illustrated to properly balance the chair and permit its comfortable use in any position. Furthermore, due to the position and arrangement of the links and pivots, as brought out, the position of the chair may be easily varied, even though the users legs and feet are supported on the leg rest.

lt should at this time also be pointed out that the fixtures are disposed between the chair body or base side members and the chair seat frame side members so that there is no linkage disposed within or immediately below, the chair seat frame. which would interfere with the positioning of the cushion 33 thereon, which may be relatively deep if coil springs are incorporated therein. Likewise, it should be noted that the channel-shaped metal cross frame member 25 acts as an abutment or stop for the leg rest when the latter is in its vertical position but this frame member does not interfere with the movement of the seat because with its channel shape the intermediate portion thereof is disposed adjacent the` extreme bottom of the chair base, while the legs extend vertically, in engagement with the chair base and out of interfering relationship with the chair seat. lt furthermore will be appreciated that each of the link joints or pivots are of the rivet type, and liber washers are provided between the adjacent metal links to prevent metal to metal engagement and provide a smoothly operating, properly balanced chair, free from all noises and squeaks and having no rattling or loose movement even after a considerable period of use.

ln the modification of the invention illustrated in Figs. 7 through 10, the leg rest 31 may be manually raised or lowered when the chair is in its upright position, but will still be automatically actuated when the chair position is varied, as previously described. That is, evenwhen the chair seat and back are in their upright position, the foot rest may be actuated so as to provide a foot rest for the user. However, before moving the chair seat and back to their reclined position, the foot rest must be disposed in its inoperative, vertical position. In this embodiment of the invention the elongated arm of each xture 39 is divided into two parts', a front part 121 and a rear part 123, which have adjacent overlapping end portions and are movable or slidable relative to each other, fore and aft.

The back end of the arm part 123 is pivotally connected at 97 to the extreme rear end of the link 63 and forwardly thereof is provided with a plurality of square apertures or holes 125, four spaced apertures being illustrated. Rearwardly of apertures the part 123 has laterally spaced stops or projections 127 lanced therefrom, adjacent the opposite sides thereof, which are adapted to engage and limit the rearward movement of a pawl 129 which is slidably supported. on the part 123. The pawl 129 is provided with a laterally extending groove 131, which acts as a retainerl for a linger 133 carried on the part 121, as will be hereinafter brought out. Immediately rearwardly of the stops 127, the part 123 has an aperture 135 lanced therein in which the linger 133 is disposed when the leg rest is in its vertical or inactive position. Part 123 is provided forwardly of the apertures 125 with a lanced stop or projection 137, which is adapted to abut and limit forward movement of the sliding pawl 129. Adjacent the extreme forward end of the part 123 laterally spaced stops 139 are lanced from the part to act as an additional abutment, as will hereinafter appear. The back end of the part 121 overlaps the front end of part 123 and has rigidly connected with its forward end a rectangular housingelike member 141, which extends around and is slidably supported on part 123. Extending rearwardly from the housinglike member 141 and rigidly connected thereto is tl e linger member 133 which may be made of spring steel or the like, and has its back end tapered slightly and bent downwardly so that it can drop into the various apertures. Part 121 is pivotally connected, at its front end at 99 to the leg rest bracket 101 in the same manner as arm 95, previously described, and the remainder of the foot rest linkage is identical to that previously de scribed.

When the leg rest is in its vertical inactive position, as illustrated in solid lines in Fig. 2, the back end of the linger 133 is disposed in the aperture 135. When it is desired to manually raise the leg rest, the user grasps the bottom of the leg rest and swings it upwardly,

which movement will cause the housing member 1111 and the spring linger 133 to slide forwardly along part 123 and also engage and slide ,the pawl member 129 forwardly along part 123. The leg rest may be raised until the spring linger passes any one or more of the apertures 125 and when it is released it will drop into the aperture which it has just passed over to support the leg rest in an elevated position. When it is desired to lower the leg rest, the user raises the rest to its uppermost position, and the sliding pawl 129 will abut the stop 137 and the spring linger 133 will ride over the back edge of the pawl and into the groove 131. The forward movement of the housing member 141 is limited by the stops 139 which are spaced relative to the stop 137 so that after the linger is engaged in the sliding pawl groove 131 it cannot be pulled forwardly out of engagement therewith. The user then releases the leg rest so that it drops or swings downwardly causing the iinger to slide rearwardly in engagement with the pawl, over the apertures 125 until the pawl abuts stops 127, at which time the momentum of the part 121 and linger 133 will cause the linger to jump out of the groove 131 and into engagement with the outer face of the part 123 and thence into the lanced aperture 135. As the forward end of the part 121 is connected to the leg rest and linkage in the manner previously described for atrasos the arm 95, the leg rest will be automatically actuated when the chair is reclined, in the manner previously described, so that the manual adjustment feature does not adversely affect the automatic foot rest operation.

Other types of mechanisms which will permit manual raising of the foot rest may be provided. In the embodi ment illustrated in Figs. l1 and 12, the leg rest bracket 1131 is connected with the links 93 and 1%'13 in the manner previously described and with a sub frame member 151 on which the leg rest frame 37 is hinged by hinge 153. A sector link 155 is connected adjacent one end thereof with the leg rest frame and link 155 is slidably supported on bracket 101 by means of a housing -mem ber 157 which is mounted on bracket 101. A. ball 161 is supported in housing member 157 and is adapted to t in apertures 159 in link 155. A coil spring 163 is supported in housing member 157 and urges the ball 161 toward link 155 so that the ball is spring-loaded. When the foot rest frame 37 is raised so as to pivot about hinge 153, the ball will drop into one of the spaced apertures 159, to retain the leg rest in its raised position. By merely pressing downwardly on the foot rest with sufficient force to compress the spring 163, the foot rest can be moved to its normal inactive position.

ln order to properly support the legs or feet of tall people, when the chair is reclined, mechanism may be incorporated to cause the chair leg rest to be disposed forwardly or outwardly relative to the chair seat, farther than is possible with the actuating mechanisms of the chair structures previously described. 1n this connection, two different arrangements for additionally extending the leg rest forwardly are illustrated in the drawings. In the embodiment illustrated in Figs. 13 through l5, the forward end 98 of each arm 95 is pivotally connected at 165 to one end of an upstanding flange 157 of an elongated L-shaped bracket 171 which has a flange portion 169 which is provided with a pair of spaced elongated slots 173 and 175. Flange 169 abuts flat leg or flange portions 177 and 179 of a bracket 181 and the leg portions 177 and 179 are rigidly connected to the foot rest frame 31 by means of screws 183 and 185 and carry headed rivet-like members 187 and N9 which ride in the bracket slots 173 and 175 respectively. The central portion 191 of bracket 181 extends at right angles to the leg or flange portions 177 and 179 adjacent one side of the leg rest 31 and carries at its apex a rivetlike member 193 which is received in a slot 195 in the outer end of the foot rest link 193. The link 103 is also pivotally connected to the flange 167 of bracket 171 intermediate its ends at 197. Therefore, when the chair is reclined and the foot rest moves upwardly and forwardly the parallelogram linkage arrangement will cause the foot rest frame 31 and its bracket 181 to slide forwardly relative to bracket 171 until the rivet-like members 137 and 189 abut the front ends of slots 173 and 175. The footrest is therefore carried outwardly and forwardly an additional distance equal to the length of each of the slots 173 and 175 so that the back edge of the foot rest, when it is in its elevated position, will be two or three inches further out than in the previous embodiments.

In the embodiment illustrated in Fig. 16, the forward end n@ of each elongated arm 95 is pivotally connected at 197 to the back or upper end of link 199. The opposite end of link 199 is pivotally connected at 2111 to a short link Z112 which extends adjacent one side of the foot rest, and has its upper or forward end pivotally con nected at 293 to an L-sha-ped bracket 205 which is rigidly connected to the foot rest frame 31 by screws 2b?. Link 1193 extends substantially parallel to link 2112, and has its upper or forward end pivotally connected to bracket 2115 at 208 adjacent the upper and back end thereof. Link 1% is pivotally connected at 2119, intermediate its ends, to the link 199 so that the outer portion of link 199, link 202, bracket 265, and the outer end of link 103 constitute a. second parallelogram linkage in conjunction with the main substantially parallelogram foot rest linkage described in the previous embodiments. Therefore, when the chair is reclined so as to actuate link and swing the foot rest upwardly and outwardly, the secondary parallelogram linkage will swing the leg rest frame outwardly or forwardly an additional two or three inches to provide greater over-all chair length to properly support the legs of a user.

It should also be noted that in all embodiments, when the chair is fully reclined, the leg rest is preferably as high as or above the chair back cushion, so that a contour chair is provided in which the users feet will be elevated at least as high as or above the head, thereby effecting a more restful position and a position which is medically recommended in order to increase blood circulation in the users head and in order to more effectively relieve foot fatigue. Also, if the user does not desire to assume this position in the chair, he can assume any position between the fully reclined position and the normal sitting position by merely varying the position of the chair as previously described.

What is claimed is:

1. In a mechanism for supporting a chair seat and chair back assembly in sitting and reclining positions inclnding, in combination, supporting means for one side of the assembly, including a set of parallelogram links, an arm rigidly connectable to the chair back, a second link pivoted at one end to said arm, the opposite end of which is pivoted to one of said parallelogra-rn links, said arm below the pivot connecting it to said second link, extending downwardly and rearwardly thereof, elongated link means connected to the rearwardly extending end of said arm and extending forwardly in position to actuate a leg rest at the forward end of the seat, said elongated link means having a rapid forward movement produced by the forward movement of the pivot between said arm and said second link which is connected to one of said parallelogram links and by the rotation of the rearwardly extending portion of said arm about said pivot.

2. A mechanism for operating a leg support at the forward edge of a chair having a seat and a back, including, in combination elongated link means connectable to the leg support and adapted to extend to the rear of the seat, an arm rigidly connectible to the chair back so as to extend downwardly therefrom, a second link, a pivot securing said second link and said arm together, said arm extending below said pivot and rearwardly there of, a second pivot connecting said rearwardly extending end of Said arm to the rear end of said elongated link means whereby the rearward tilting .movement of said arm causes said first pivot to move forwardly and said second pivot to move forwardly therewith as well as rotation of the rearwardly extending portion of said arm about said first pivot, so as to impart additional forward movement to said elongated link means and cause substantial and rapid movement of the leg support.

3. In a combination mechanism for supporting a back and seat and a leg rest of a. seating device comprising, a pair of supporting mechanisms one at each side of the seat and back, each comprising a parallelogram supporting mechanism for supporting the seat, link mechanism for supporting the back and for raising and advancing the seat forwardly when the back is tilted downwardly and moved forwardly, said mechanism including an arm rigidly connectible to the back, said arm having a rearwardly lower end portion, a link pivotally connected to said arm and pivoted to the parallelograrn mechanism to move forwardly therewith, elonr'ated link means pivoted to the rearwardly extending portion of said arm and having its forward end pivotal to the leg rest whereby the forward movement of said arm causes the leg rest actuating link to move forwardly therewith with an increased de gree of movement produced by the rotation of the rearwardly extending end portion about the pivot of the link armena attached thereto for lproducing accelerated movement of the leg rest.

4. In a combination mechanism for supporting a back and seat and a leg rest of a seating device comprising, a pair of supporting mechanisms one at each side of the seat and back, each comprising a parallelogram supporting mechanism for supporting the seat, link mechanism for supporting the back and for raising and advancing the seat forwardly when the back is tilted downwardly and moved forwardly, said mechanism including an arm rigidly connectible to the back, said arm having a rearwardly lower end portion, a link pivotally connected to said arm and pivoted to the parallelogram mechanism to move forwardly therewith, elongated link means pivoted to the rearwardly extending portion of said arm and having its forward end pivotal to the leg rest whereby the forward movement of said arm causes the leg rest actuating link to move forwardly therewith with an increased degree of movement produced by the rotation of the rearwardly extending end portion about the pivot of the link attached thereto for producing accelerated movement of the leg rest, a link securable to the seat and extending below said leg rest actuating link, a pivot securing said last two links together, and a link connecting the last said link to the leg rest to provide a substantially parallelogram support for the leg rest on the seat for upward and forward pivoted movement thereon when the leg rest actuating link is operated.

5. In a chair construction a frame, a seat cushion, a back cushion, a leg rest, mechanism between said frame and each side of said seat cushion and said back cushion and leg rest for supporting said back cushion, seat cushion and leg rest in an upright or sitting position, said mechanism embodying a plurality of pivoted links which advance the seat cushion forwardly and upwardly as the back cushion swings downwardly and forwardly, which movement swings the leg rest upwardly above the lowered back cushion so that the uppermost portion of the leg rest is disposed above said seat cushion and above the entire back cushion to provide a contoured seat arrangement when the chair is fully reclined.

6. In a chair construction a frame, a seat cushion, a back cushion, a leg rest, mechanism between said frame and each side of said seat cushion and said back cushion and leg rest for supporting said back cushion, seat cushion and leg rest in an upright or sitting position, said mechanism embodying a plurality of pivoted links which advance the seat cushion forwardly and upwardly as the back cushion swings downwardly and forwardly, which movement swings the leg rest upwardly above the lowered back cushion so that the uppermost portion of the leg rest is disposed above said seat cushion and above the entire back cushion to provide a contoured seat arrangement when the chair is fully reclined, said. leg rest being moved forwardly of the seat cushion as it is swung upwardly to extend the over-all length of the chair when it is reclined.

7. In a chair construction, a frame, a chair seat, back and leg rest supported on said frame, a pair of supporting mechanisms, one at each side of -said seat, back and leg rest for supporting the latter in sitting and reclining positions, each of said mechanisms including a set of parallelogra-m links pivotally connected with said frame and said seat, an arm rigidly connected to said chair back, a second link pivoted at one end ,to said arm, the opposite end of which is `pivote-d to one of said parallelogram links, said arm below the pivot connecting said arm to said second link extending downwardly and rearwardly thereof, elongated link means connected to the rearwardly extending end of said arm and having its opposite end pivotally connected to said leg rest forwardly of said seat, said elongated link means having a rapid forward movement produced by the forward movement of the pivot between said arm and said second link which is connected to one of said parallelogram links and by the rotation of the rearwardly extending portion of said arm about said pivot.

8. In a chair construction, a frame, a chair seat, back and leg rest supported on said frame, a pair of supporting mechanisms, one at each side of the seat and back supporting said seat, back and leg rest in sitting and reclining positions, including in combination, elongated link means connected at its forward end to said leg rest and extending to the rear of said seat, an arm rigidly connected to said chair back and extending downwardly therefrom, a second link, a pivot securing said second link and said arm together, said `arm extending below said pivot and rearwardly thereof, a second pivot connecting said rearwardly extending end of said arm to the rear end of said elongated link means, whereby the rearward tilting movement of said arm causes said first pivot to move forwardly and said second pivot to move forwardly therewith, as well as rotation of the rearwardly extending portion of said arm about said iirst pivot, so as to impart additional forward movement to said elongated link means and cause substantial and rapid movement of said leg rest.

9. In a chair construction, a frame, a chair seat, back and leg rest supported on said frame, a pair of supporting mechanisms one at each side of said seat, back and leg rest, for supporting the latter in sitting and reclining positions, each of said supporting mechanisms comprising a parallelogram supporting mechanism supporting said chair seat on said frame, link mechanism supporting said back on said frame so that when said chair is reclined by tilting said back said seat will raise and advance forwardly and said chair back will move downwardly and forwardly, said link mechanism including an arm rigidly connected to said back, said arm having a rearwardly extending lower end portion, a link pivotally connected to said arm and pivoted to said parallelogram mechanism to move forwardly therewith, elongated link means pivoted to the rearwardly extending portion of said arm and having its forward end pivotally connected to said leg rest, whereby the forward movement of said arm caused by the reclining movement of said chair seat and back causes said leg rest actuating link to move forwardly therewith with an increased degree of movement produced by the rotation of the rearwardly extending end portion about the pivot of the link attached thereto for producing accelerated movement of said leg rest.

10. In a seat construction, a body, a seat member, a back member, and a leg rest member, mechanism between said body and each side of said members for supporting said members in au upright or sitting position on said body and permitting said members to be moved to a reclining position on said body, said mechanism embodying a plurality of pivoted `links which advance the seat niember forwardly and upwardly as the ba-ck member swings downwardly and forwardly, which movement swings the leg rest upwardly to a generally horizontal raised position, and means connecting said leg rest to said links for independent movement relative thereto, to permit said leg rest to be raised or lowered when said members are in the upright position, said means including velements for releasably retaining said leg rest in a raised position.

l1. In a seat construction, a body, a seat member, a back member, and a leg rest member, mechanism between said body and each side of said members for supporting said `members on said body for movement between an upright position and a reclining position, said mechanism embodying a parallelogram linkage supporting `said seat member on said body, linkage pivotally connecting said seat back to said body and with said parallelogram linkage, and actuating mechanism connected with said seat back member and pivotally connected with said leg rest member whereby said seat member will advance forwardly and upwardly as said back member swings downwardly and forwardly, which movement will cause said leg rest to swing upwardly, said actuating mechanism including link means having a portion connected with said leg rest and a link portion connected with said seat back member,

said link portions being relatively movable to permit said atrasos 1 1 leg rest to be raised or lowered when said seat and back members are in an upright position, and complemental engaging means on said link portions for releasably retaining said leg rest in an adjusted raised position.

l2. In a seat construction, a body, a seat member, a back member, and a leg rest member, mechanism between said body and each side of said members for supporting said members on said body, said mechanism including parallelogram linkage supporting said seat member on said body, linkage pivotally connecting said back member with said body and with said parallelogram linkage, arm means connected with said linkage and pivotally connected with said leg rest, said arm means including two overlapping arm portions, a detent member carried by one portion of said arm means and complemental detent retainer means carried by the other portion of said arm means, said two arm portions being slidable relative to each other, so that the leg rest may be manually raised to a desired position wherein said detent means releasably engages said retaining means to releasably retain said leg rest in said desired position.

i3. ln a seat construction, a body, a seat member, a back member, and a leg rest member, mechanism between said body and each side of said members for supporting said members on said body, said mechanism including parallelogram linkage supporting said seat member on. said body, linkage pivotally connecting said back member with said body and with said parallelogram linkage, arm means connected with said linkage and pivotally con nected with said leg rest, said arm means including two overlapping arm portions, one of said portions having a plurality of spaced apertures therein, a spring ngerlike detent carried by the other of said portions, one end of which is adapted to engage in one of said apertures, whereby said leg rest may be raised to a desired position wherein said detent engages in an aperture, a slide member supported on said one arm portion and engageable by said detent, a stop on said one arm portion forwardly of said apertures, adapted to limit the forward movement of said slide as the latter is carried forwardly by said detent, whereby when the leg rest is raised to its upper'- most position said detent will engage and be supported on said slide and leg rest can then be lowered with the detent being carried rearwardly by said slide, and an additional stop on said first member rearwardly of said apertures, to engage said slide as it moves rearwardly and permit said datent to move from engagement therewith and into engagement with said one arm portion.

14. ln a mechanism for supporting a back and seat and leg rest of a seating device, comprising in combination, a pair of supporting mechanisms one at each side of the seat and back, and including pivotally connected links for supporting the seat and back and advancing the seat forwardly when the back is tilted downwardly, an elongated link pivotally connected to each of said mechanisms and having its forward end disposed adjacent to the leg rest so that actuation of said back and seat will cause said link to move forwardly and upwardly, a link pivotally connectable to the seat and extending below said elongated link, a pivot securing said latter links together, a link member pivotally connected at its lower end to said seat link, a rigid element pivotally connected to said elongated link and to said link member so as to provide a substantially parallelogram linkage arrangement, bracket means rigidly connectable with a leg rest, and means movably interconnecting said element and said bracket, and a connection between said link member and said bracket so that actuation of said elongated link will cause said bracket to move forwardly relative to said parallelogram linkage.

i5. ln a mechanism for supporting a back and seat and a leg rest `of a. seating device, including a pair of supporting mechanisms one at each side of the seat and back, said mechanisms including pivotally interconnected links supporting said seat and back and for raising and advancing the seat forwardly when the back is tilted downwardly, an arm connected with said linkage and having its forward end disposed adjacent a leg rest, a rigid element pivotally connected with the forward end of said arm, a link pivotally connectable to the seat and extending below said arm, a pivot securing said link and arm together, a second link pivotally connected with the lower end of said first link and pivotally connected at its opposite end to said rigid element, bracket means connectable to the leg rest and slidahly connected to said rigid element for movement for and aft thereof, and means pivotally connecting said second link with said bracket means so that when said arm is moved forwardly and upwardly said bracket means will slide forwardly relative to said rigid element.

i6. ln a mechanism for supporting a back and seat and leg rest of a seating device, including a pair of supporting mechanisms one at each side of the seat and back, each of said mechanisms including pivotally interconnected link means supporting the seat and back for raising and advancing the seat forwardly when the back is tilted downwardly, an arm pivotally connected with said linkage so as to move forwardly and upwardly when said seat and back are actuated, the forward end of said arm being disposed adjacent the foot rest, a link pivotally connectable to the seat and extending below said arm, a pivot securing said link and arm together, a second link pivotally connected with the lower end of said first link, a third link pivotally connected to the forward end of said arm and to said second link intermediate the ends thereof so that said links and arm comprise a substantially parallelogram linkage arrangement, a fourth link extending substantially parallel to said second link and being pivotally connected to the forward end of said third link, bracket means connectable to the leg rest and pivotally connected to said second and fourth links so as to provide a second parallelogram linkage arrangement to cause said leg rest bracket means to move forwardly relative to said arm when said arm is moved forwardly and upwardly.

17. A chair structure including a body, a back, a seat and a leg rest supported on said body, a pair of supporting mechanisms at each side of said seat and back supporting the latter on said body, each of said mechanisms including pivotally interconnected links for supporting the back and for raising and advancing the seat forwardly when the back is tilted downwardly, an arm connected with said linkage and extending forwardly adjacent the ieg rest and movable forwardly and upwardly when said back is tilted downwardly, and means connected with said leg rest and with said arm providing a moving connection between said leg rest and arm, so that said leg rest will move forwardly relative to said arm when said arm is actuated, said means including a link connected with sai-:l seat and said arm, and additional rigid members connected between said arm and said leg rest and said link and said leg rest.

i8. In a seat construction, a body, a seat member, a back member, and a leg rest member, mechanism between said body and each side of said members for supporting the same on said body and permitting said members to move between a reclining and a sitting position, said mechanism including structure for raising said leg rest from a generally vertical inoperative position to a generally horizontal raised position when said back member is reclined, means interconnecting said leg rest with said supporting mechanism, permitting said leg rest to bc manually raised or lowered when said seat and back members are in an upright position, said means including relatively movable members carrying complemental engaging elements which are engageable to releasably retain said leg rest in adjusted positions between its fully raised and fully lowered position.

1.9. ln a chair construction, a seat, a leg rest supported on said seat adjacent the front thereof for movement between an inoperative generally vertical position and a e AAx raised generally horizontal position, said support of the leg rest including a irst link pivotally connected with said leg rest, a second link pivotally connected adjacent one end to said leg rest and extending generally parallel to said rst link, a third link extending generally parallel to said leg rest and pivotally connected adjacent one end thereof to one end of said first link and pivotally connected intermediate its ends to said second link inter* mediate the ends thereof, a fourth link pivotally connected to said third link adjacent the opposite end thereof and extending generally parallel to said second link, a fifth link pivotally connected adjacent one end thereof to the opposite end of said second link and pivotally connected intermediate its ends to said fourth link and pivotally connected adjacent its opposite end to said seat, 15

and actuating means connected with said seat for pivoting said links relative to said seat and leg rest to move said leg rest relative to said seat between said generally vertical and said generally horizontal positions.

References cited in the me of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Belgium May 31, 1952 

